Penitentiary,,
a prison in which convicted offenders are confined and subjected to a course of discipline and instruction with a view to their reformation. Misdemeanants and persons guilty of lesser felonies are confined therein.
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Penitentiary,,
one of the offices of the Roman Catholic Curia, taking special cognizance of matters relating to the confessional, and dispensations from such impediments to marriage as are not diriment. The dignitary who presides over the office described above. He is a cardinal priest, and must be a doctor of theology or canon law.
Entry from Everybody's Cyclopedia, 1912.